Fence Line Fairness Act of 2025
The Fence Line Fairness Act of 2025 would create state-level oversight mediation committees to help settle disputes over where National Forest System (NFS) land ends and private land begins. When a private landowner and the Forest Service disagree about boundary location, the landowner can opt into a mediation process. Each state with NFS land would have a mediation committee composed of five private farmers or ranchers (two appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and three by the state agriculture or natural resources department). The committees would hold private hearings, issue non-binding recommendations for resolving the dispute, and deliver a findings-and-recommendations report to the Secretary, the Chief of the Forest Service, state officials, and two congressional committees. The process must begin within 180 days of a dispute being referred, and the landowner must be notified within 30 days of discovery of the dispute, with the option to participate in mediation. The act does not grant the committees binding authority to alter boundaries; instead, it aims to facilitate negotiated settlements and inform higher levels of government.
Key Points
- 1Establishes state-level oversight mediation committees to resolve disputes over the boundary between National Forest System land and private land, with a focus on private landowner–Forest Service boundary questions.
- 2Committee composition: in each state, 5 members total (2 appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture; 3 appointed by the state department of agriculture or natural resources), all private active farmers or ranchers; terms are 5 years, with a maximum of 2 terms.
- 3Opt-in mediation process: the Secretary must notify a private landowner within 30 days of learning of a boundary dispute and offer mediation; the dispute is referred to the mediation committee within 60 days after the landowner opts in.
- 4Mediation process: the committee conducts private hearings, provides non-binding recommendations for actions to resolve the dispute, and submits a findings-and-recommendations report to the Secretary, the Chief of the Forest Service, state officials, and two congressional committees.
- 5Timeline and scope: hearings should begin within 180 days of referral; the act applies to disputes about the location of boundaries between National Forest System land and private land and does not specify binding outcomes.